Written Answers Wednesday 11 August 2010

Scottish Executive

Bees

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken tests regarding the potential links between herbicide spraying and bee deaths and, if so, what the results were.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government takes issues related to bee populations very seriously and monitors developments in relation to pesticides and insects carefully. For example the Scottish Government have contributed to a £1.8 million study led by Dundee University on "An investigation into the synergistic impact of sublethal exposure to industrial chemicals on the learning capacity and performance of bees", which is part of the GB-wide £10 million Insect Pollinators research initiative.

Environment

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to reach a decision on the proposed Sound of Barra Special Area of Conservation.

Roseanna Cunningham: The proposed Sound of Barra Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is presently undergoing an Impact Assessment, to explore the possible socio-economic effects of designation, with the final report expected in August. I will then consider the next steps to be taken in the early autumn.

Environment

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the extent, in hectares, of St Margaret’s Marsh Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (a) was when originally designated as an SSSI, (b) is at present and (c) will be if the new Forth Crossing is developed as proposed.

Richard Lochhead: The original extent of St Margaret’s Marsh SSSI was 26.4 hectares. The current extent is 24.0 hectares. If the Forth Replacement Crossing is developed as currently proposed, Scottish Natural Heritage estimate that the SSSI would be reduced to 21.2 hectares.

Environment

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to (a) replace land previously denotified at St Margaret’s Marsh Site of Special Scientific Interest and (b) ensure that any future loss of land at St Margaret’s Marsh is compensated for by the provision of new or enhanced habitat elsewhere and what the reason is for its position on these matters.

Richard Lochhead: SNH has advised that the part of the site which was denotified in 2009 did not contribute to the special interest for which the site had been notified. There was therefore no justification for seeking to compensate for the effect of the denotification.

  SNH and Transport Scotland have considered the options for compensatory measures to balance the loss which would be represented by the use of part of the site for the B981 realignment proposed in connection with the new Forth Crossing. The extent of the land on the St Margaret’s Marsh SSSI which would be lost as a result of this scheme comprises 0.7ha of reedbed (a notified SSSI feature) and 3.1ha of rough grassland and scrub (which is not a notified feature of the SSSI); the reduction of notified habitat therefore represents a small proportion of the total area of the site contributing to the special interest for which it was notified. The saltmarsh habitat (which is the most ecologically significant component of the SSSI) would not be affected.

  Compensatory measures would normally constitute either the provision of new habitat elsewhere or improved management of the existing habitats on the SSSI. SNH has assessed the current condition of both the reedbed and saltmarsh habitats as being "unfavourable", mainly as a result of restricted ingress of seawater to the site coupled with suspected nutrient enrichment. The preferred option, representing the best approach to sustaining the long term functionality of the notified habitats, is therefore for compensatory measures to take the form of a management plan for the SSSI.

Forestry

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount and area of productive woodland has been lost through the restructuring process in each of the last five years.

Richard Lochhead: A breakdown of these figures into the various categories now requested is not readily available at present.

  To satisfy the requirements of felling control legislation, restructuring proposals are only agreed if they are in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management. However, certain categories of felling (including felling associated with planning permission such as windfarms) are exempt from felling licence requirements, and no central records are held on exempt felling.

  Forestry Commission Scotland records show that the total amount of private sector woodland approved for felling over the past five years without a replanting condition was 678 hectares.

  Current work on improving the National Forest Inventory and implementing the policy on the Control of Woodland Removal will provide additional information on woodland loss.

Forestry

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount and area of restocked woodland has been put back as productive conifer crop in each of the last five years.

Richard Lochhead: There have been 45,400 hectares of conifers restocked over the last five years. These figures are taken from Forestry Facts and Figures that are available on the Forestry Commission website at  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-7aqknx .

  The following table provides details of all restocked woodland areas and includes conifer and broadleaves.

  Area of Woodland Restocked (in Hectares)

  

Year (to 31 March)
Conifer
Broadleaved
Total


2006
7,800
1,200
9,000


2007
10,600
1,800
12,400


2008
10,800
1,800
12,600


2009
8,200
1,400
9,600


*2010
8,000
1,500
9,500


Total
45,400
7,700
53,100



  Note: *2010 figure has been compiled from the Woodland Area, Planting and Restocking publication which contains provisional statistics for the year to March 2010.

Forestry

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has from (a) public and (b) private sector forest plans for the amount and area of woodland to be restructured that will be re-established in productive conifer crop.

Richard Lochhead: The National Forest Estate Strategic Plan  (published in 2009) states that the area of broadleaves on the national forest estate will be increased from the current level of 8% to around 20% of woodland cover. While this will mean a reduction in the relative area of productive conifer crop, improved planting stock and silviculture will be used to maximise production of quality timber. It is expected that private owners’ decisions on species choice will, within the overall context of sustainable forest management principles, reflect their individual management objectives. Production forecasts will continue to be published to assist the wood processing industries in making investment decisions based on reliable information about future timber supplies. The next conifer production forecast is due for publication towards the end of 2011.

Forestry

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to encourage a greater proportion of productive conifer crop in forests.

Richard Lochhead: We recognise the importance of sustaining a predictable and stable supply of good quality timber to encourage continued investment in Scotland’s timber processing industries. To help achieve this, the Scotland Rural Development Programme offers grants for productive conifers; these grants encourage the use of genetically improved planting material. In addition, Forestry Commission Scotland is currently developing a pilot scheme to lease land from farmers for creating new productive woodlands.

Forestry

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount and area of productive woodland has been lost through the creation of windfarms and access roads in each of the last five years.

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount and area of productive woodland has been lost through habitat restoration in each of the last five years.

Richard Lochhead: A breakdown of these figures into the various categories now requested is not readily available at present.

  To satisfy the requirements of felling control legislation, restructuring proposals are only agreed if they are in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management. However, certain categories of felling (including felling associated with planning permission such as windfarms) are exempt from felling licence requirements, and no central records are held on exempt felling.

  Forestry Commission Scotland records show that the total amount of private sector woodland approved for felling over the past five years without a replanting condition was 678 hectares.

  Current work on improving the National Forest Inventory and implementing the policy on the "Control of Woodland Removal" will provide additional information on woodland loss.

Mental Health

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources have been lost to mental health services in the east end of Glasgow since May 2007; what savings target has been proposed for 2010-11, and what actual savings have been implemented.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has confirmed that the relevant budget has risen from £4,120,266 in 2007-08 to £4,382,921 in 2010-11; an increase of £262,655.

  We understand that the board has a savings target of £100,000 in 2010-11 for this particular budget, and that £50,000 has been delivered to date as a consequence of reviewing and reducing agency staff costs, and non-pay expenditure.

Rural Affairs

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34671 by Richard Lochhead on 30 June 2010, what new systems are being introduced to speed up the processing of annual recurrent payments for the Rural Priorities scheme.

Richard Lochhead: The new systems are (1) an improvement in the procedure for clearing computer generated errors involving the reclassification of some automated checks, and (2) a change to the associated IT payment calculation programme to operate on a nightly rather than a twice weekly basis to ensure that authorised claims are paid quicker. These new systems were introduced on 29 June and 14 July respectively.

Rural Affairs

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assurances can be given to claimants that future annual recurrent payments under the Rural Priorities scheme will be paid on time.

Richard Lochhead: We continue to improve the Rural Priorities payments process and our aim is to pay the vast majority of the 2010 annual recurrent claims by the end of March 2011. This is in line with the payments target for the long-established Less Favoured Area Support Scheme, which is another element of the SRDP.

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it has in agreeing the location of residual waste treatment facilities.

Richard Lochhead: It is the responsibility of local authorities, through their development plans, to specify locations for residual waste treatment facilities.

  The Scottish Government’s role is limited to the approval of strategic development plans, taking decisions on planning applications being appealed and determining planning applications called in by Scottish ministers.

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the effectiveness of residual waste treatment facilities.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has responsibility for ensuring that waste treatment facilities comply with all relevant environmental legislation. Permits issued by SEPA list the conditions under which the facilities must operate, including the categories and quantities of waste permitted to be incinerated, emission limits for a range of air pollutants, combustion temperatures and sampling arrangements. SEPA checks compliance with permits through planned programmes of inspections and by reviewing the monitoring and other data submitted by operators. SEPA will take appropriate enforcement action against any breach of permit conditions.

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what particulates are licensed to be emitted from residual waste treatment facilities and at what level.

Richard Lochhead: Residual waste treated in energy from waste facilities must comply with the strict emission limit values set out in the EU Waste Incineration Directive, designed to protect human health and the environment. The Directive specifies air emission limits for a range of pollutants, including particulates. While the Directive does not prescribe emission limit values for specific particulate sizes, it does prescribe the total particulate releases that are permitted. These are:

  - daily average values not to exceed 10 milligrams per cubic metre, and

  - half-hourly average values not to exceed 30 milligrams per cubic metre or 97% of the half-hourly average values over a year not to exceed 10 milligrams per cubic metre.

Waste Management

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who monitors the particulates emitted from residual waste treatment facilities.

Richard Lochhead: Operators have responsibility for monitoring particulate levels from residual waste treatment facilities, in compliance with the conditions set out in permits issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Particulate emissions are measured on a continuous basis. SEPA examines this data and periodically audits operators’ sampling and monitoring procedures to ensure they comply with all permit conditions. This includes unannounced visits or "spot checks" at facilities and independent testing of emissions.